Biodiversity: An Introduction [Paperback]

Kevin Gaston (Author), John Spicer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0632049537 | ISBN-13: 978-0632049530 | Publication Date: March 30, 1998 | Edition: 1

This book is a short and simple introduction to biodiversity-- how it arose, where it occurs, why it is important and what should be done to maintain it. Although it will be of interest to conservation and environment professionals, the text is written primarily with undergraduate students in mind.

As a result, it provides a timely overview of serious attempts made to quantify and describe biodiversity in a scientific manner, and also acts as a point of entry into the primary literature. I ncorporated into the text are a number of exercises designed to encourage active learning and promote debate of some of the more controversial issues.

• Provides an affordable overview of biodiversity in under 150 pages.
  
• Learning exercises encourage consideration and debate of some of the more controversial issues.
  
• Annotated suggestions for further reading.
  
• Based on a proven and successful course structure.
  
• Emphasis on clarity and accessibility.

Editorial Reviews

Review

".this excellent little book packs a big punch due to the well chosen examples and case studies, and its engaging, concise and readable style." Biological Conservation

"...the authors have amassed an excellent collection of literature related to biodiversity and conservation and a numberof good examples to illustrate the threats facing biodiversity and its potential loss. This book is an excellent basic introduction to general biodiversity fo students and teachers, as well as generalists and amateurs interested in exploring the fundamentals, uses, threats and conservation of biodiversity." The Glasgow Naturalist, July 2005 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

This book is a short and simple introduction to biodiversity - how it arose, where it occurs, why it is important and what should be done to maintain it. Designed primarily with undergraduate students in mind, although also of interest to conservation and environment professionals, it provides a timely overview of the serious attempts made to quantify and describe biodiversity in a scientific way as well as acting as a point of entry into the primary literature. Incorporated into the text are a number of exercises designed to encourage active learning and promote debate of some of the more controversial issues.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 133 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (March 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0632049537
• ISBN-13: 978-0632049530
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,261,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tries to do too much.., July 3, 2000

By 

S. Goetz (Woods Hole, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Biodiversity: An Introduction (Paperback)

This is a very terse book. The stated purpose, according to the authors (Kevin Gaston and John Spicer at the University of Sheffield, UK) is to "cover as much ground in as few pages as possible." It succeeds, to a limited extent, by providing an outline to key issues associated with biodiversity research. It supplements this skeletal approach with numerous references for additional reading, and a few URLs. While there is a clear need for a succinct reader on biodiversity, I cannot recommend this book as a good introductory text. It tries to be too broad (including, e.g., biodiversity below the earth's surface) rather than being more informative on a focused range of topics. As a result the coverage on many of the topics is maddeningly shallow - for example, 1 page on species-area relationships, 1/3rd of a page on local versus regional diversity (without reference to alpha, beta, gamma diversity), a short paragraph on patterns of diversity with productivity, and a discussion of endemism without reference to historical or spatial isolation. One way the 113-page book might have been better executed in comparable length is by omitting the marginally informative 5th chapter on "maintaining biodiversity," which uses 1/6th of the book's length to outline the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Despite these crippling problems the book does convey many of the critical issues facing scientists, environmentalists and policy makers in this poorly understood (and frequently misrepresented) subject. The first 3 chapters provide a useful overview of the elements and surrogates for biodiversity, historical diversification, and some of the challenges to mapping biodiversity at a range of spatial scales.